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Law360 (May 12, 2020, 9:21 PM EDT) -- The Trump administration is making it easier for businesses that operate on the food supply chain to hire migrant workers who are already in the United States in a bid to prevent labor shortages caused by the State Department's decision to halt routine visa processing.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's decision to relax restrictions on migrant workers who are in the country on seasonal H-2B visas — as long as they work in positions that support the food supply chain — came in the form of a temporary final rule published in the Federal Register on Tuesday.
H-2B visa holders working in certain industries would be able to switch employers more easily under the temporary rule, which comes on the heels of a similar rule aimed at agricultural workers who enter the U.S. on H-2A visas.
"DHS is taking steps to ensure that employers who have needs for temporary nonagricultural workers who provide stability to the nation's food supply chain have greater certainty and flexibility to minimize gaps in the flow of H-2B workers," the agency said in the rule.
Like the parallel rule for agricultural workers, H-2B visa holders would also be able to stay in the country longer without having to return to their home country for a three-month stint. Normally, seasonal workers have to do so every three years, but under the proposed rule, that requirement would be put on hold.
The rule takes effect Thursday and will automatically terminate on September 11, 2020.
Industries that rely on temporary migrant workers began to brace for shortages after the State Department announced it was suspending all routine visa processing in March, but backlash forced the department to agree to continue processing visas for returning H-2A workers and to waive in-person interviews for some new workers.
But in the rule published Tuesday, DHS also noted that the labor force was expected to suffer as many H-2B visa holders fall ill themselves.
Meatpacking plants — which often hire H-2B workers — have become COVID-19 hotspots across the country, with dozens of plants across the country forced to shutter operations temporarily as large swaths of their workforce fall ill. Employees often work shoulder to shoulder and at a rapid pace for long hours, conditions that make it nearly impossible to social-distance.
As more plants began shutting their doors in April and criticism against companies over lack of worker protections began to build, Tyson Foods took out full page advertisements in three major newspapers to warn that "the food supply chain is falling apart."
--Additional reporting by Suzanne Monyak. Editing by Gemma Horowitz.
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